Wednesday, June 12, 2013

With the upcoming launch of The Works burger joint in Hamilton’s own Jackson Square, it seemed only fitting to
give it a try at the nearby location in Burlington (also I love burgers in
general and didn’t really need a reason to check it out). The Works has been
around since 2001 and has over 20 locations already up and running and nearly
10 more on the go. When
I recently checked out the Burlington location, I was immediately
impressed with the friendly staff and cool interior; the brick, metal
and wood gave it a rugged, industrial feel that worked well with the
menu offerings and overall dining experience.

The main thing with The Works is that you are pretty much
guaranteed to find something on the menu that appeals to you, as long as you
like burgers. Not only do they have 6 different patty choices including (but
not limited to) beef, elk and portobello caps, they have 71 different combo
toppings and many different sides to choose from.

Tower-O-Rings

We started off by ordering
milkshakes, which I heard were a specialty of theirs. They give you the option
of mixing multiple flavours (and I’m the kind of person who likes a lot of
options when it comes to food) and went with a chocolate and peanut butter mix
while my boyfriend opted for raspberry and chocolate. They both arrived in big
glass measuring cups with straws and were extremely creamy and thick (and also
very filling)!

For our appetizer we ordered the “Tower-O-Rings” which are breaded (not battered) onion rings. They come piled high with two dipping sauces; we got the Chipotle mayo and the Buttermilk
Ranch. The rings were super crispy – crunchy even – and quite large! It’s a
pretty generous portion for an appetizer when you consider that you’ve already
had half a milkshake and have a burger and side on the way. We couldn’t quite
finish the tower but I imagine that it would have been a perfect size for 3-4
people, instead of 2.

After looking at the menu and
what seemed like a billion topping combinations, we finally settled on our
burger picks. I got the San Francisco Treat on a beef patty, which came with
real Kraft dinner & cheddar cheese (not Rice-a-Roni). I blame Diners,
Drive-ins and Dives for making me add bacon to my burger (as well as a side of
poutine).My boyfriend got the
Blues Burger on an elk patty, including blue cheese and double smoked bacon,
with a side of their spicy die-cut chips.

Poutini Martini

I really liked the Kraft dinner
and the creaminess that it gave the burger, and the bacon added just the right
saltiness and texture. One of my ‘beefs’ with the burger, however, is that the
bun was a bit stale and oval (while the patty was round. That is actually a
pretty big pet peeve of mine and I have sent back many a non-matching bun at
restaurants - yes, I am that customer). I ordered the Poutini Martini as my
side, which is a standard poutine with onion rings. The image I had in mind
when I ordered this was of small, crispy bites of onion rings mixed into the
poutine. What I received, however, were large pieces of onion rings (basically
one of their rings roughly broken into 4 pieces) thrown onto the top of the
poutine. While they did use real curds (5 points for that), I was disappointed
in the lack of said curd (minus 5).

Blues Burger with Die-Cut Chips

My boyfriend enjoyed his burger
but found that the blue cheese was almost too strong and somewhat overwhelmed the
flavour of the meat. While elk is a pretty lean meat, the burger remained moist
and had a nice texture to it. The spicy die-cut chips were probably the high
light here. Similar to kettle chips except a bit thicker and with a really
yummy house-made dry rub on them; we ate them all despite being super full.

Overall, The Works is a good burger joint and they are definitely a player in the ongoing best-burger competition. They are constantly coming up with new toppings and combos and that is precisely why I think they will do well in Jackson Square. The shakes were great, the onion rings were crispy and unique and with a few tweaks to their buns and poutines, they could really have something amazing! I will be sure to check them out once they are up and running in Hamilton. Oh and be sure to come super hungry and to spread out your milkshakes and onion rings!

About Me

Having worked in a local bakery throughout high school and watched the cooking channel obsessively from an early age, I can say whole-heartedly that I am a food lover. I love all things fried, flambéed, grilled, baked and dipped. I am constantly trying to keep track of all the restaurants, markets, cafes and vineyards that I have explored and will endeavour to share each and every bite with you.